مَرَرتُ بِمُطرابِ الغَداةِ كَأَنَّها

تَعلُ مَعَ الإِشراقِ راحاً مُفَلفَلا

I passed by the early-morning singers, as if

They learnt with the dawn a fragrant trill,

مُنَمَّرَةٌ كَدراءِ تَحسَبُ لَونَها

تَجَلَّلَ مِن جِلدِ السَحابَةِ مَفصِلا

Speckled like the black partridge, you’d think its hue

Was coloured from a rain cloud’s polished skin.

بَدَت تَجتَلي لِلعَينِ طَوقاً مُمَسَّكاً

وَطَرفاً كَما تَرنو الغَزالَةُ أَكحَلا

It seemed to bare its throat-band for my eyes,

And an eyelash fine as a gazelle’s kohl’d rim,

لَها ذَنَبٌ وافي الجَوانِبِ مِثلَ ما

تُقَشِّرُ طَلعاً أَو تُجَرِّدُ مَنصِلا

With a tail both sides the equal that strips bare

A flowering twig or plucks a fruitful stem.

إِذا حَلَّقَت في الجَوِّ خِلتَ جَناحَها

يَرُدُّ صَفيراً أَو يُحَرِّكُ جَلجَلا

When it took to the air it left me watching

Its wings beat out a murmur or soft jingle.